Children

This is my first Christmas not teaching, but I think of what it means to be in the classroom frequently and the impact adults have on children. Children are nature’s gift. They are the future and need to be nurtured and cherished in that respect. Christmas is a time we can remember the gifts we sometimes take for granted for the rest of the year. It is a time to pause and recall the reason for the season. It was a particularly important gift brought to us in the form of a child that we can see and understand in the form of our children.

About ivonprefontaine

I completed a PhD at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA. Previously, I taught for 20 years and taught for 15 years in a wonderful hybrid school. My dissertation topic and research were how certain teachers experience becoming who teachers. In teaching and leanring, I am a boundary-crosser who understands moving ahead is a leap of faith.
Teaching is a calling and vocation to express who I am as a person. Currently, I am waiting and listening to what calls me next. I am an educator, phenomenologist, scholar, boundary-crosser, published poet, author, parent, grandparent, and spouse.

You are so right and children are so neglected even in ‘good’ homes. It seems our society became so self-centered we lost both the ability and the desire (at least as a nation) to be our children’s mentors. I taught second grade for two years as a para-professional in a ‘target area school’ where the children were so starved for attention and affection they would almost knock you over to get a hug. I found lots of sweetness under their facades. Most were latch-key children of necessity (single parents). I wonder often how they turned out.